Friday, April 30, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 30/04/2010



Skyfire 2.0 now ready to set Android ablaze
We've been seeing mobile browsers steadily raising their game lately, so it was inevitable that Skyfire would look to shock and awe us with its first release for the Android platform. Version 2.0 introduces a brand new SkyBar -- which ironically sits at the bottom of the screen -- providing users with a trifecta of new features. Firstly, the Video link serves as a workaround for those pesky "your phone ain't got no Flash" missives by doing server-side conversions of Flash video into universally comprehensible formats like HTML5. If implemented well, this should be a major coup for the company, particularly in light of a potential iPhone release as well. There's also a streamlined sharing feature for social networks, and an Explore function that suggests internet content on the basis of what's currently on display. We'll be testing out the usefulness of these shortly -- for now, hit the source link to get your own Skyfire going.

Gallery: Skyfire 2.0 now ready to set Android ablaze

Continue reading Skyfire 2.0 now ready to set Android ablaze

Skyfire 2.0 now ready to set Android ablaze originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SmartQ R7 e-reader boasts 3G, touchscreen LCD, magazine service and IPTV (video)
Late to the touchscreen MID party, Chinese manufacturer SmartQ was determined not to miss another opportunity. That's why it spent the month of April touting its new R7 e-reader as -- you guessed it -- the iPad killer. With the same ol' 600MHz ARM11 and 256MB of RAM inside as its ho-hum MIDs, that claim's quite a stretch, but our cohorts at Engadget Chinese actually found the Ubuntu-powered 7-inch SVGA touchscreen device moderately capable in a recent hands-on. Like fellow PMP / e-Reader the Onda VX560, the device supports 1080p in most every video format under the sun, reads e-books (PDF, EPUB and CHM), and has a built-in 3G modem for on-the-go capability. Ubuntu standbys Midori and Pidgin handle web browsing and IM, respectively, and it can even stream live video and purchase Chinese magazines through SmartQ's services. Sluggish as it might be, for $1,680 RMB (about $250) we'd say that's a pretty respectable featureset. Video after the break, specs and hands-on pics at our source links.

Continue reading SmartQ R7 e-reader boasts 3G, touchscreen LCD, magazine service and IPTV (video)

SmartQ R7 e-reader boasts 3G, touchscreen LCD, magazine service and IPTV (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PMP Today | sourceEngadget Chinese (1), Engadget Chinese (2), Ownta | Email this | Comments
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Shuttle unveils Core i7-powered J3 desktop, changes how you look at little PCs
Earlier in the month Shuttle unveiled a pair of serious little desktops, the J1 and G2, and teased about a third model that would knock all of our proverbial socks off in one fell swoop. That desktop is here and, well, our feet are bare. The J3 packs an Intel Core i7-980X Gulftown processor, about the fastest available for consumers today, and pairs it with NVIDIA's monster GeForce GTX 480. Shuttle isn't telling other details of the machine at this point (all will be unveiled at Computex in early June), but in a video after the break you can gaze upon its healthy stack of USB ports and stare longingly at its shapely cooling system as it spins about and slowly shedding its clothing -- and its dignity.

Continue reading Shuttle unveils Core i7-powered J3 desktop, changes how you look at little PCs

Shuttle unveils Core i7-powered J3 desktop, changes how you look at little PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Droid Incredible arrives as promised (Update: not yet!)
Don't say we didn't warn you. HTC's impressive Droid Incredible has arrived, so if you pre-ordered one you can expect it today (if you haven't already gotten it) -- and if you didn't, well you can pick one up at a nearby Verizon store. If you haven't already, be sure to check out our full review of the Incredible.

Update: So, a friendly tipster pointed out to us that on Verizon's website, it actually still lists the Droid Incredible as available for pre-order. To quote: "Due to high demand, this device will ship by 5/4."

Continue reading HTC Droid Incredible arrives as promised (Update: not yet!)

HTC Droid Incredible arrives as promised (Update: not yet!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI Android, Windows 7 tablets launching in June, dualscreen delayed until Q4
It looks like ASUS won't be the only Taiwanese manufacturer whipping out new tablets at Computex in early June, and MSI will be joining the party with its Android and Windows 7 touchscreen devices. According to the company, the tablets will come in 8.9- and 10-inch varieties, and will ship sometime in the third quarter. We can't promise you big M's Tegra 2 and Atom-powered slates will be all that different from what we've been seeing from the others out there, but we are told the pricing will be "extremely aggressive." That's intriguing, but unfortunately, that awesome dualscreen tablet we saw at CES is farther behind. According to MSI's Andy Tung, the hardware implementation is the reason for the delay as the Atom-based tablet is not providing adequate endurance. "The two screens are a major drain on the battery, and even with a higher density battery and the Menlow CPU we are only getting three hours," he said. It looks like we will be waiting until the fourth quarter to get some two screen action, though we guess we could always pick up an Android and Win 7 slate and tape 'em together.

MSI Android, Windows 7 tablets launching in June, dualscreen delayed until Q4 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's technicolor N150 netbook gets Verizon-powered 3G
Samsung's technicolor N150 netbook gets Verizon-powered 3GRecently, about the only thing worth getting excited about regarding the Samsung N150 was the plethora of colors that its casing could be ordered in. Now, though, the little thing has been finally been updated to include the 3G modem it's always promised, and is ready to connect up to Verizon Wireless. Sure, it isn't the LTE model that was spied at MWC -- that is still a few months off, at least -- but it does mean there's yet another option out there for road warriors who like little lappys. Some bad news, though: this model appears to be only available in black, but we do dig red highlights.

Samsung's technicolor N150 netbook gets Verizon-powered 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs publishes some 'thoughts on Flash'... many, many thoughts on Flash
140diggsdigg Steve Jobs just posted an open letter of sorts explaining Apple's position on Flash, going back to his company's long history with Adobe and expounding upon six main points of why he thinks Flash is wrong for mobile devices. HTML5 naturally comes up, along with a few reasons you might not expect. Here's the breakdown:
  • It's not open. "While Adobe's Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system." Man, that's some strong irony you're brewing, Steve. Still, we get the point -- HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript are open web standards.
  • The "full web." Steve hits back at Adobe's claim of Apple devices missing out on "the full web," with an age-old argument (YouTube) aided by the numerous new sources that have started providing video to the iPhone and iPad in HTML5 or app form like CBS, Netflix, and Facebook. Oh, and as for flash games? "50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free." If we were keeping score we'd still call this a point for Adobe.
  • Reliability, security and performance. Steve hits on the usual "Flash is the number one reason Macs crash," but adds another great point on top of this: "We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it." You've got us there, Steve, but surely your magical A4 chip could solve all this?
  • Battery life. "The video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software." Steve Jobs is of course H.264's #1 fan, and it's hard to blame him, since he cites 10 hours of H.264 playback but only 5 hours with software decode on the iPhone. Still, those "older generation" sites that haven't moved to H.264 yet are pretty much the exact same sites that aren't viewable with HTML5, which means we're being restricted in the content we can access just because some of it doesn't perform as well.
  • Touch. Steve hits hard against one of the web's greatest hidden evils: rollovers. Basically, Flash UIs are built around the idea of mouse input, and would need to be "rewritten" to work well on touch devices. "If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?" That doesn't really address the Flash-as-app scenario (that's point #6), but it's also a pretty silly sounding solution to a developer: your website doesn't support this one UI paradigm exactly right, so why not rewrite it entirely?
  • The most important reason. Steve finally addresses the third party development tools situation, but it's really along the lines of what we were hearing already: "If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features." We doubt this will end all debate, but it's clear Apple has a line in the sand.
He concludes in saying that "Flash was created during the PC era - for PCs and mice." Basically, it's for the olds. And you don't want to be old, do you? Follow after the break for the whole thing in brilliant prose form.

Continue reading Steve Jobs publishes some 'thoughts on Flash'... many, many thoughts on Flash

Steve Jobs publishes some 'thoughts on Flash'... many, many thoughts on Flash originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's Dash goes on sale, officially this time
Yeah, we spotted the Dash at Best Buy a few days ago, accidentally eating up shelf space, but we've finally hit that April 29th launch date and Sony has unleashed the non-tablet touchscreen device into the wild. The $199 unit, which is somewhat of a branded Chumby, sports a 7-inch screen, best-alarm-clock-you-ever-owned good looks, and access to streaming media from CBS, Netflix, Pandora, and more. If you can bottle your enthusiasm for just a bit longer we'll have our own impressions of the device posted soon enough, but nobody's stopping you from snapping this up from Sony's website, your local Sony Style store, or whatever other retailer you might have in mind. PR is after the break.

Continue reading Sony's Dash goes on sale, officially this time

Sony's Dash goes on sale, officially this time originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Puppet Pouch puts fur on your DS / DSi, smiles on people's faces
As jaded as we are, we just can't bring ourselves to criticize this. Produced by CTA Digital, authors of other questionable gaming accessories, the Puppet Pouch acts as a superfurry (and annoyingly cute) case for your Nintendo portable console. Coming with a felt interior and elastic straps to keep your Ninty nice and minty, it also offers a zipped compartment for storing games and accessories, as well as "puppet functionality." That last bit means you can shove your hand inside it and use the little fella as part of your awesome ventriloquist act. Priced at $19.99, it's available now, but we've just got one oustanding question -- what animal is this supposed to be?

Continue reading Puppet Pouch puts fur on your DS / DSi, smiles on people's faces

Puppet Pouch puts fur on your DS / DSi, smiles on people's faces originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceCTA Digital, Amazon | Email this | Comments
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TomTom reveals plans for App Store in battle against smartphone navigation
You know how TomTom is moving to a WebKit-based UI with its new flagship Go Live 1000 satnav? Well, there's good reason for it. While TomTom called it a "platform for innovation" at Tuesday's press event in Amsterdam, going so far as to show a few in-house developed prototype apps for Facebook, Wikipedia, and live street cams, it stopped short of revealing its true plan: an app store it can cuddle and call its own. Pocket-lint had a sit down with TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn who revealed TomTom's plans to launch the app store by the end of the year. Apps that will easily migrate to its in-car platform, and to and from other WebKit based devices. In essence, it's TomTom's consumer-focused survival plan against free turn-by-turn offerings from Google and Nokia. While there's no doubt that dedicated satnav devices offer greater functionality and better performance compared to their part-time smartphone navigating competitors, selling the average consumer (not hardened road warriors) on the need for two devices won't be easy. Besides, are Facebook updates really that critical when driving? Pics of the Wikipedia and street cam sample apps after the break.

Continue reading TomTom reveals plans for App Store in battle against smartphone navigation

TomTom reveals plans for App Store in battle against smartphone navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourcePocket-lint | Email this | Comments
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Polaroid returns to instant photography with the 300, thinks you'll pay a premium for it
Polaroid returns to instant photography with the 300, thinks you'll pay a premium for it
When Polaroid left the instant film market back in 2008, it left a gaping hole that Impossible Project has attempted to fill with its overpriced reproduction paper. We're guessing someone at Polaroid saw that and thought: "Hey, why don't we charge too much for instant film, and make an overpriced camera to use it in?" And thus the $90 Polaroid 300 was born. Yes, $90 for the sort of instant point-and-shoot that, a few decades ago, you could pick up for under $20. And the film? Ten shots for $10. Nostalgia don't come cheap, people. The camera and the film release in May, and if this is how the reborn Polaroid is hoping to stay afloat we're thinking the death of instant film is at hand -- again.

Update: As Peacock has pointed out in comments, this isn't even an original product. It's a rebranded Fujifilm Instax Mini 7 -- which costs a slightly less egregious $67 at various online retailers.

Continue reading Polaroid returns to instant photography with the 300, thinks you'll pay a premium for it

Polaroid returns to instant photography with the 300, thinks you'll pay a premium for it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer set to fill our lives with MID goodness in May
Acer set to fill our lives with MID goodness in May
For Acer, the future is the MID, and for you, that future starts next month. In May the company will launch what is said to be a "full line" of mobile internet devices, following up on that patent application filed way back in January of 2009 (which came complete with the incredibly high-detail picture above). What the company is not saying is exactly what the nature of these MIDs will be, except than they will be rocking version 4.0 of the company's Shell UI. It's a new version of the layer that was applied over Windows Mobile on smartphones like the M900, going all Bob on us by trying to recreate a virtual office. At this point we don't know whether version 4.0 will still be built atop WinMo, but at least we won't have to wait long to find out.

Acer set to fill our lives with MID goodness in May originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceYahoo! News | Email this | Comments
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MSI's GE600: nine Benjamins, now shipping from Newegg
Though we question the MSI GE600's status as "gaming notebook" given it doesn't hold a candle to the company's signature red-and-black machines, those looking for a well-rounded, noble laptop -- not to mention a sub-$1000 price -- will now find just that on Newegg. For nine hundred clamshells, you'll get 16 inches of low-res 1366 x 768 real estate, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive and Mobility Radeon HD 5730 graphics, all fed their requisite bits and bytes by a 2.26GHz Core i5-430M CPU -- plus all the usual ports, Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi. Care to dine in the lap of semi-luxury? Now shipping.

MSI's GE600: nine Benjamins, now shipping from Newegg originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceNewegg, MSI Mobile | Email this | Comments
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Bookeen's upgraded, colorful Cybook Opus to debut on May 7
We were promised a color-loving version of the diminutive Cybook Opus and here's the delivery of said pledge. Coming in seven new shades to match its May 7 release date, the newly revised Cybook Opus boasts instant-on functionality, a new Boo Reader software that helps to optimize battery life, and a category-best 12 font sizes. It's still a monochrome E Ink display -- 800 x 600 pixels -- and memory hasn't budged up from the 1GB on its predecessor, but at least the opening price has dipped down to a £149 ($199 in USA) RRP. When you consider 150 books come preloaded on the device, it's almost like Bookeen is giving the hardware away for free. It's not, but that's as good a rationalization as any other. Full PR after the break.

Gallery: Bookeen's upgraded, colorful Cybook Opus to debut on May 7

Continue reading Bookeen's upgraded, colorful Cybook Opus to debut on May 7

Bookeen's upgraded, colorful Cybook Opus to debut on May 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 06:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan sending humanoid robot to the moon by 2015
As the US prepares to send NASA's humanoid Robonaut2 up to the International Space Station in September, Japan's private SOHLA (Space Oriented Higashiosaka Leading Association) is gearing up to send its own two-legged robot to the moon by 2015. The $10.5 million robot named "Maido-kun" is being developed in coordination with the Space Exploration Agency of Japan (JAXA), an organization that has been trying to send robots to the moon since at least 2006. Oh sure, there's little reason to send a wobbling two-legged robotic rover to the crater-pocked face of the moon when four-on-the-floor would be much more practical -- other than it's awesome.

Japan sending humanoid robot to the moon by 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News | sourcePink Tenticle | Email this | Comments
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Kindle version 2.5 update gets Facebooked and Twitterized
Amazon just announced a 2.5 software update for its Kindle and Kindle DX readers. At the moment, it's rolling out the update to a "limited group" of Kindle users with a general release coming at the end of May. Enhancements include the ability to organize books and documents into "collections," pan and zoom within PDFs, Kindle password protection, larger and sharper fonts, and just what you've always wanted: the ability to "share book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter." Somebody pinch us.

Kindle version 2.5 update gets Facebooked and Twitterized originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear | sourceAmazon | Email this | Comments
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HTC expects 36 percent increase in Q2 sales thanks to Android
If Apple created the first round of disruption to the business-as-usual lethargy infecting the cellphone industry then Google appears poised to bring round two. When looking around at choices, it's the Android OS backed by Google's cloud-based services and the 50k app-strong Android Market we usually find underpinning the sexiest and most powerful hardware on the market. And guess who's making the hardware? Right, HTC. Now HTC -- thanks to its recently introduced Desire, Legend, HD Mini, Smart, EVO 4G and Droid Incredible -- says it expects record revenues of $1.6 billion in Q2 on sales of 4.5 million handsets, up from 3.3 million handsets sold in Q1 and ahead of analyst expectations. Cheng Hui-ming, HTC chief financial officer, credits the bump to the "growing popularity of the Android platform in Europe and the US". One can only imagine what HTC sales will do when its long-standing Microsoft partner releases Windows Phone 7 OS later this year.

HTC expects 36 percent increase in Q2 sales thanks to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 04:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower reveal Phenom II X6 1090T-based bargain desktops
It's akin to clockwork, as they say -- Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower have all decided to pump out new and / or revised gaming desktops based on AMD's latest and greatest (and cheapest, some would argue) six-core processor, barely waiting 24 hours to do the honors. The Phenom II X6 1090T certainly has the whole low-price thing going for it, enabling this trio of PC builders to offer up complete systems starting at under $1,000. Maingear's new Limited Edition Vybe packs a $999 price tag, USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps support, ATI's Radeon 5000 series graphics, a DVD burner, 640GB WD Caviar Black SATA 6G hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. Over in CyperPower land, users can select a variety of 1090T-based rigs starting at just $699, while iBuyPower is revamping the Chimera 2-Q, Gamer Fire and Gamer HAF systems to include the new silicon and an all-too-tempting sub-$1k starting point. The whole lot is available to be customized right this moment, but we're in no position to help you choose between options A, B, C, D, E or F. And G is looking mighty promising, too.

Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower reveal Phenom II X6 1090T-based bargain desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceiBuyPower, Maingear, CyberPower | Email this | Comments
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WebOS 1.4.1.1 now available for Verizon subscribers
Hardly the most exciting Palm news you're gonna hear this week, but the company that still owns itself for the time being has just updated its WebOS software on Verizon to the extremely granular version 1.4.1.1. The helpful changelog informs us there are no new apps, but pinch-zoom now works correctly in Doc and PDF views, a lag in the camera shutter sound has been rectified, and forwarding videos uploaded to YouTube on to your friends via email has also been made to work as it should. The most important fix of all, though, is to a keyboard input issue whereby a single key press would generate a letter twice -- both Pre Central and one of our readers report that this problem appears to have been consigned to the past. Good stuff, now let's see it go global, shall we?

[Thanks, subzero and Sam F.]

WebOS 1.4.1.1 now available for Verizon subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pre Central | source@palm (Twitter) | Email this | Comments
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Viliv's S10 Blade starts shipping out, gets its first customer unboxing
Aw, Suki Suki now! Nearly a fortnight after heard that Viliv's S10 Blade had been delayed by the factory, in flies this. Tipster Anthony seems to be on Lady Luck's good side, as his unit not only shipped, but fell into his lap today. He ordered up the 1.6GHz version with a 64GB SSD and integrated 3G, and just to prove that he wasn't yanking our chain, he offered up a gallery's worth of unboxing shots. We can't say for sure that the backlog has cleared, but it's pretty evident that the earliest of pre-orderers are seeing their units trickle out. With that said, we'd encourage you to refresh that inbox once more and make sure a package isn't headed your way -- and when it does, let us know how you like it in comments below.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Gallery: Viliv S10 Blade unboxing


Viliv's S10 Blade starts shipping out, gets its first customer unboxing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T's micro SIM card is the matryoshka doll of micro SIM cards
Alright, well played, AT&T: you've sort of managed to undo Apple's unfortunate move of eschewing nearly two decades' worth of deeply-entrenched SIM card standards in favor of a new one that literally nobody in the consumer cellphone world is using -- and for that, we thank you. We're being told that these new SIMs are now being sold in AT&T stores for $15 and will work both with the iPad 3G and... well, literally every other GSM device you've ever owned, thanks to a couple of well-placed perforations that can turn the standard SIM into a micro SIM. This is presumably a preemptive strike to support the next-gen iPhone, too, but otherwise, you can go ahead and use the big card without busting out the little one. Trust us.

Update: Our tipster wrote back in to say that they're actually not being sold in stores yet, so if you've formed a line outside your local brick-and-mortar, go ahead and turn in for the evening. Sorry, folks!

AT&T's micro SIM card is the matryoshka doll of micro SIM cards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cyanogen ports Android 2.1 to G1 and MyTouch 3G (update)
Droid, Milestone, Eris, Moment, Spica, even the Hero, all have had their Eclair, one way or another. G1 and myTouch 3G? Not so much. But don't worry, Android early adopters, because Cyanogen's got your back. Most all the bells, whistles and hardware-accelerated graphics of Android 2.1 are coming to the HTC Dream, Magic and Sapphire in CyanogenMod 5.0.7, and you can see a video of a T-Mobile G1 running the new build after the break. Twitter buzz indicates the ROM will be out any minute now is nearly ready; the dev himself tweeted that it's good to go and just needs G1-friendly bite size packaging.

Update: Don't stay up all night waiting -- Cyanogen says he's got "two more bugs to kill" and is "hoping for a test1 public beta tomorrow night."

[Thanks, Philosophics]

Continue reading Cyanogen ports Android 2.1 to G1 and MyTouch 3G (update)

Cyanogen ports Android 2.1 to G1 and MyTouch 3G (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe's Flash Player 'Gala' OS X preview tested: results may vary
Gala1 Flash 101
2.40GHz Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256MB2
Safari 4.0.5 95.4 - 152.8 74.2 - 123.5
Firefox 3.6.4 83.5 - 148.4 89.4 - 130.5
2.66GHz Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512MB2
Safari 4.0.5 59 - 64 96 - 132
Firefox 3.6.4 69 - 79 111 - 140

194diggsdigg So we just put a few minutes aside to put Adobe's new "Gala" build of Flash 10.1 through its paces on our latest-generation Core i5 and i7 15-inch MacBook Pros here, and the results are a little confusing to say the least. On our i7 equipped with the high-res display and 512MB GeForce GT 330M, processor utilization playing a 1080p sample video on YouTube dropped by a third to a half on average -- not bad -- with Safari 4.0.5 besting Firefox 3.6.4 by a smidge. Our i5 saw strangely different numbers, though, with Gala actually increasing the load on the CPU by as much as about 20 percent. Adobe is quick to note that this is nothing more than a rough preview release; Apple just unlocked access to the necessary hardware a few days ago, after all, and we're sure the company still has plenty of optimization to do. Ultimately, if our i7 figures are realistic, it should make high-def Hulu a decidedly less drama-packed experience down the road.

Notes:
1 Performance measured by processor utilization (note that numbers greater than 100 are possible on multi-core machines).
2 15.4-inch high resolution display, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM

Adobe's Flash Player 'Gala' OS X preview tested: results may vary originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven
The hand built, 8-bit "arcade guitar" that you see above is the result of a DIY senior project, and it's a pretty cool accomplishment. There's not a ton of detail about how it was constructed, but we know that it's got an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) for logic and function, strings and a joystick for adjusting the pitch, and it also boasts selectable waves and save banks. Most importantly, however, the final product sounds really, really good -- and we'd advise you to check the video below.

Continue reading 8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven

8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear | sourceYouTube, HackADay | Email this | Comments
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T-Mobile drops some overage charges in favor of bandwidth throttling
Well, it looks like T-Mobile has some good news and some bad news for customers using its 5GB webConnect data plan. The good news is that the carrier will no longer be charging its $0.20 per megabyte overage fee for any data used beyond the 5GB limit, thereby effectively making the 5GB plan an unlimited plan. The bad news is that in place of an overage charge, it will be implementing bandwidth throttling on any data used on top of the standard 5GB, although it's not saying exactly how much it will slow things down. Customers using T-Mobile's basic 200MB monthly plan aren't left out of the changes either -- while they won't see any bandwidth throttling, they will see their overage charges cut in half from $0.20 to $0.10 per megabyte. Both changes are apparently effective immediately.

T-Mobile drops some overage charges in favor of bandwidth throttling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink I4U News | sourceFierce Wireless | Email this | Comments
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Flash Player 'Gala' brings hardware decoding support to Mac OS X
digg Even amidst all their fighting, it appears Apple and Adobe can manage to lay down arms and work together every once in a while: Apple just enabled low-level access to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 320M and GT 330M H.264 GPU hardware in Mac OS X 10.6.3, and Adobe's followed up six days later with a new preview version of Flash Player code-named "Gala" that takes advantage of it. That's good news for anyone who's ever heard their fans spin up while watching a YouTube video on a Mac (so, everyone) but we doubt it means there's any détente on larger issues between these two coming -- Apple remains committed to HTML5, while Adobe's pulled all investment from iPhone-related Flash development, and the company's relationship with Google seems to be heating up. We'll take what we can get, we suppose -- we'll hit you with some benchmarks just as soon as we get things installed.

Flash Player 'Gala' brings hardware decoding support to Mac OS X originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Objects in Chinavasion's Video Glasses may be cheaper than they appear
Certainly, if we're going to live in a future where console jockeys and other cyberpunk-types run amok in virtual reality dreamscapes, we're going to have to start seeing more cut-rate video eyewear. For most cowboys, dropping $800 on something by Vuzix is just not an option. Luckily, the gang at Chinavasion have recently sourced some generic, relatively inexpensive "Video Eyeglasses." Priced at $135 (with the cost dropping when you buy at bulk) these bad boys feature a simulated display size of forty inches and QVGA (320 x 240) resolution. But that ain't all! It even ships with its own generic media player, sporting 2GB storage and support for the usual file formats (including DivX, XviD, MPEG2, AVI, MP3, and FLAC) as well as ROMs for NES and Sega. Seems pretty straight forward, right? The only question we have left is: if viewed through Video Glasses, will The Girlfriend Experience have a plot? Because when we saw it on IFC, we're pretty sure it didn't. Get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Objects in Chinavasion's Video Glasses may be cheaper than they appear

Objects in Chinavasion's Video Glasses may be cheaper than they appear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple acquires virtual assistant search app maker Siri
Apple has acquired Siri, a company that makes a virtual assistant app. Siri was inspired by DARPA's CALO -- the Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes -- project. Originally designed to help streamline military personnel's activities, the consumer app focuses on helping you find things like restaurants, making use of speech recognition to boot. Essentially a smart search, there's plenty of speculation of course as to what this means about the direction that Apple might be taking... and that direction seems to lead towards Google-y territory. Now we don't want to speculate too much, but we'll be watching to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. The terms of the acquisition aren't known, meaning we have no idea how much Apple paid for the small startup, but Business Insider guesses the deal could be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 million.

Apple acquires virtual assistant search app maker Siri originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone tethering on AT&T still waiting on better network performance
23diggsdigg AT&T's own Ralph de la Vega mentioned as early as November of 2008 that you'd be able to tether your iPhone to your computer and use it as a modem "soon," but here we are some ten months after the initial announcement of official tethering support in the platform and there's no sign of it. Considering that many iPhone carriers around the world deployed it as soon as Apple had it ready -- and many more came online over the months to follow -- it seems that AT&T's silence on the issue has spoken volumes. We reached out to the company today to get a statement on the feature's status, and here's what we got back (text bolded by us, not AT&T):
"We understand that there is great interest in tethering but cannot provide any details at this time. We know that iPhone users love their devices and mobile broadband, and that they're likely to embrace tethering just as they have other features and apps - by using it a lot. iPhone tethering has the potential to exponentially increase traffic, and we need to ensure that we're able to deliver excellent performance for the feature - over and above the increases in data traffic we're already seeing - before we will offer the feature."
Coincidentally, that's almost identical to a statement the company issued last September, but regardless, AT&T can't necessarily afford to meet its network "performance objectives" before acting -- Verizon's announcement that Palm's Mobile Hotspot app would become a free add-on with the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus was a serious shot across the bow of any other American carrier trying to woo business customers and road warriors. Think it'll go live before the next iPhone does?

iPhone tethering on AT&T still waiting on better network performance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP: 'We're doubling down on webOS,' Palm: 'That was the whole point'
70diggsdigg We just spoke with both Brian Humphries, HP's Senior VP of Strategy and Corporate Development, and Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, and came away with a pretty positive picture for the future of Palm. The money quote is that HP plans to be "doubling down on webOS," and that was confirmed in speaking with Palm's honcho, who says that "that was the whole point." Not only that, but we've confirmed on both ends that Jon will be staying on with the company, along with much of the existing Palm hierarchy. There are plenty of transition details to work out, but Jon says there will be lots of time for all that during regulatory and shareholder approval. The word is that Palm's existing hardware roadmap is basically untouched at this point by this acquisition, but the good news on the HP end of things is that the company sees webOS as a "prized asset," and they intend to "scale it across multiple connected devices." That sounds like tablets to us, and HP didn't beat back that assumption. On the Palm hardware end, Jon is very fond of saying "scale," referring to the money and manufacturing resources at HP's disposal, but he also says that he sees Palm working hand in hand with HP on devices. One point that both companies were less clear on was the Palm branding itself -- you know, whether Palm will stay Palm. Both Brian and Jon said those kinds of details would be worked out as the acquisition went forward, but offered no concrete comment on it otherwise.

Money-wise we asked if Jon thought HP could provide the sort of "ammunition" to beat Apple, Google, and Microsoft at their own mobile game, and Jon says "I don't think HP would do this unless they were willing to make the kind of investment necessary to win." HP calls webOS a "compelling operating system," but that Palm didn't have the money to compete and "scale it across multiple form factors," and that it's exactly HP's financial wherewithal, brand, and corporate culture that it brings to the table. HP and Palm won't comment specifically on the forthcoming device roadmap, but HP did confirm that it had tested the platform "to make sure it scales." They keep saying "scale," but all we're hearing is "tablet."

HP: 'We're doubling down on webOS,' Palm: 'That was the whole point' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP: opportunities for webOS 'smartphones, slates, and potentially netbooks'
Color us excited. HP's Todd Bradley just made an interesting proposition on the conference call about its Palm acquisition. Specifically, Bradley said, "Between smartphones, slates, and potentially netbooks, there are a lot of opportunities here." You read that right: slates and potentially netbooks. The tablet route is pretty obvious, but having the netbook / smartbook form factor is quite a twist. Think about it, a Foleo descendant you can be proud of -- whodathunkit? If you're worried HP has forgotten about other platforms, we need only point in the direction of the Android-fueled Airlife. Obviously nothing to announce at this point, but doesn't that just get us hopeful -- roadmap announcements are said to be forthcoming closer to the merger being finalized. The call is still ongoing, so stay tuned!

HP: opportunities for webOS 'smartphones, slates, and potentially netbooks' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP buys Palm: the liveblog
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/04/webos-slate-hp-pixi-rm-eng.jpg
Well, we can't say we were expecting HP to step up and be the one to buy Palm, but here we are, getting ready to liveblog the conference call. The deal is worth some $1.2b, and we've heard that HP is "doubling down" on webOS, so we're eager to find out what's in store -- and, quite frankly, we're excited to repeatedly hear that it's really, really true. It's about to start at 5PM EST, keep it locked right here.

Continue reading HP buys Palm: the liveblog

HP buys Palm: the liveblog originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP buys Palm
2,035diggsdigg HP has just announced that it's acquiring Palm to the tune of $1.2 billion, which works out to $5.70 per share of Palm common stock. The deal is planned to close by July 31, which marks the end of HP's third fiscal quarter of the year. Current Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein is "expected to remain with the company," though it's not said in what capacity. Press release after the break. There'll be a call to discuss the acquisition in more detail (well, we hope in more detail) at 5PM ET, so we'll keep you abreast as we learn more.

Update: PreCentral's managed to grab a copy of Rubinstein's letter to Palm employees.

Continue reading HP buys Palm

HP buys Palm originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel said to be prepping 1.46GHz Core i7 ULV processor for this Fall
There's already been some rumors circulating that Intel would be rolling out a 1.33GHz Core i7 ULV processor this summer, and it now looks like that will be followed by an even faster low-voltage processor later in the Fall. That's when, according to Fudzilla, Intel will be launching a 1.46GHz Core i7 680UM processor, which reportedly has the same 18W TDP rating and 4MB of cache as its slower counterpart, and can clock all the way up to 2.53GHz in Turbo Boost mode. Unfortunately, there's not so much as a hint of pricing or any actual laptops that will use the processor, and Intel itself is of course keeping quiet on the matter for the time being.

Intel said to be prepping 1.46GHz Core i7 ULV processor for this Fall originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista | sourceFudzilla | Email this | Comments
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World's largest curved plasma display flows into Japan's Kansai airport
Sure, we've seen 125-inch and a 145-inch curved plasma displays, but there's a new size champ in town: the international departure area at Japan's Kansai Airport was just graced with this 200-inch waterfall of a curved plasma. That's right around 13 feet by 10 feet, which is relatively insane -- no word on whether Jerry Jones is going to show up and play Gears of War on it anytime soon.

World's largest curved plasma display flows into Japan's Kansai airport originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceAkihabara News | Email this | Comments
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AT&T posts fast facts on iPad 3G data plans
There's nothing groundbreaking in here, but AT&T has just thrown up a good one-page summary of how this whole WWAN thing is going to go down for new iPad 3G owners come this Friday. As we've already known, you'll be paying $14.99 for 250MB or $29.99 for unlimited (yes, truly unlimited with no 5GB cap) data in addition to free access to AT&T's comprehensive collection of WiFi hotspots -- perhaps the more interesting bits, though, have to do with plan management on the 250MB setup. Basically, you'll get a warning on your iPad when you get to 20 percent of your allowance remaining, then again at 10 percent, and finally when you run out; at each message, you'll have the chance to re-up (of course, if you find yourself blowing through 250MB on a regular basis, you probably want the unlimited plan anyhow). Plans renew automatically after every 30 days, and you can check your usage at your leisure from Settings on the device. Sure, you might be cursing the fact that you've found a legitimate reason to spend another $30 every month -- but at least you'll be able to set it up and manage it without a call to customer service.

AT&T posts fast facts on iPad 3G data plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexus shows off hybrid bicycle, won't sell you one
This Lexus bicycle has apparently been quietly making the rounds since the last year's Tokyo Motor Show, but the automaker has rolled it out again to coincide with the Great British Bike Ride, and it's taken the opportunity to dish some details on it. While it's still just a concept, it does exist in prototype form, and packs a 240-Watt electric motor that's powered by a 25.9-volt lithium battery pack, which promises to give you a little extra push when you're tired of pedaling. Being a Lexus, it also follows the "L-finesse" design language, and it relies on the same principles of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system found in the company's hybrid vehicles to recharge the battery through regenerative braking. Unfortunately, Lexus says it doesn't have any plans to put the bike into production -- but that may be for the best, we're pretty sure the future of transportation is one-wheeled anyway.

Lexus shows off hybrid bicycle, won't sell you one originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceAutoblog Green | Email this | Comments
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Sprint halves its quarterly customer loss, increases revenue for the first time in ages
If you can find the silver linings, the news is finally getting a little better over at the number three largest carrier in the States after countless quarters of brutal numbers. Sprint still isn't turning a profit or earning net customer adds, but it's continuing to stem losses by posting its first sequential rise in revenue in almost three years, clocking just under $8.1 billion for the quarter; that's still less than the revenue it posted a year ago, but hey, at least it's an improvement over Q4 2009's roughly $7.8 billion. All told, that works out to a net loss of $865 million, which is also better than Q4's $980 million. Net wireless customers fell by 75,000 -- considerably better than Q4's 148,000 -- but net postpaid customers fell by a much larger 578,000, suggesting that Boost Mobile's aggressive marketing is probably working. That's all well and good, but it also likely means that ARPU is on a downward trend; Sprint claims it was flat sequentially and down a dollar from $56 to $55 year-over-year. All told, it seems the company's fortunes are improving by baby steps -- but is it fast enough? And how much is the EVO 4G going to mix things up?

Sprint halves its quarterly customer loss, increases revenue for the first time in ages originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Compaq Airlife 100 exclusively available to Telefónica customers for 229 euros in May
We just had a feeling that the Compaq Airlife 100 would be the first smartbook to ship when we caught wind of its official spec page last week, and now our Spanish counterparts are reporting that the Android-running clamshell will be exclusively available through Telefonica Movistar in mid-May. The carrier is also finally revealing a price -- the Snapdragon smartbook will set Spaniards back 229 euros and that doesn't even include the accompanying 48 euros a month Internet Maxi plan (insert iPad joke here). We are told there's also a 39 euro Internet Plus plan, but that requires you to shell out 299 euros for the little laptop. Seems to be a bit more expensive than we originally thought, considering you can get a more powerful netbook for less than 199 euros these days, but we will see how this whole smartbook thing pans out soon enough. As for us Americans, HP recently told us there are no plans to bring the Airlife 100 stateside.

Compaq Airlife 100 exclusively available to Telefónica customers for 229 euros in May originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceEngadget Spanish | Email this | Comments
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The Engadget Show: Inside the gadget markets of China, part two - Shenzhen
You may have already seen the large range of gadgets -- both old and new -- in Hong Kong, but the small presence of KIRFs there does make things a tad less exciting. Want more? Turns out all you need to do is grab a Chinese visa (or a border pass if you're a Hong Kong or Macau resident), take a train ride up north and you'll reach Shenzhen for all the KIRFs you've ever wanted. In this second part of our China tour series, we'll be showing you around the Luohu Commercial City and the Huaqiangbei gadget heaven -- don't worry, there are still many genuine products there for you little angels. Oh, and we also popped into a Meizu store for some hands-on time with the notorious M8. Enjoy.

Host: Richard Lai
Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm, Richard Lai
Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger
Filmed by: Alfred Yu, Richard Lai
Edited by: Richard Lai
Music by: Pieces of Eight, Sabrepulse
Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec

Download the Show: The Engadget Show - Segment 008 (HD) / The Engadget Show - Segment 008 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted)

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Click through for the stream...

Continue reading The Engadget Show: Inside the gadget markets of China, part two - Shenzhen

The Engadget Show: Inside the gadget markets of China, part two - Shenzhen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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